Plows are commonly mounted to vehicles for use in the removal of snow or other debris from roadway surfaces. Typically a plow is mounted to the front of the vehicle such that it is generally aligned with the longitudinally-extending chassis of the vehicle. A wing plow that extends from a side of the vehicle and is offset laterally from the chassis can be used either alone or in conjunction with a standard front-mounted plow to remove snow from the sides or shoulders of roadways or to extend the plowing path width of a vehicle (e.g., such that a vehicle can plow two driving lanes of a multi-lane roadway).
The location of the wing plow to the side of the vehicle can hinder an operator's ability to see the wing plow while driving, thereby increasing the susceptibility of the wing plow to damage while in operation. To reduce damage to the wing plow and the amount of time and attention devoted by the driver to control the position of the wing plow, it is desirable to equip a wing plow with the ability to follow the ground contour, such as when the wing plow rides on and off the shoulder of the roadway, and to move over an obstruction encountered in the roadway.
A wing plow can include a trip mechanism adapted to allow a wing plow to pass over a fixed obstruction projecting from the roadway to reduce damage when the wing plow's cutting edge strikes the obstruction. A trip mechanism typically either allows the top of the moldboard to roll forward or the bottom edge of the cutting edge to independently move backward when an obstruction is contacted.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventor to aid the reader, and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some aspects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.